Detroit, MI | Record Store Day strikes the right chord April 18: Music fans, this is your day. We know that on April 18, you’ll head to your favorite independent music store for the annual Record Store Day. You’ll line up for hours outside before it opens, form bonds with other record fanatics waiting alongside you and hunt for new titles to add to your collection. Record Store Day, launched internationally in 2007, celebrates the culture of independent record stores. Artists from all categories—classic rock, rap, blues, jazz, punk and country—release music. New releases on CD, vinyl, 12-inch and more are available for purchase from enthusiastic employees who can’t wait to talk music with their customers.
London, UK | Old St Records are giving away free drinks this month to celebrate old school vinyl. Record breaking? …To celebrate Record Store Day on 18th April, Old St Records in Shoreditch is giving away free drinks – but there’s a catch. In order to redeem your free drink (of your choice), you’ll need to show a same-day receipt from a record store, showing a purchase. The idea is to celebrate independent record stores, and vinyl-music culture. And if the name Old St Records sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve queued outside and danced your way in to one of their other London locations like Venn St Records, Northcote Records, or Eastcheap Records. Kicking off at Old St Records on 18th, it’s not just a free drink but a proper all-day party celebrating rubber records and its cult indie scene.
Portland, OR | Bruce Springsteen makes surprise visit to Southeast Portland record store: A Southeast Portland record store received a visit from The Boss himself Thursday afternoon. Ahead of his Friday concert at the Moda Center, rock icon Bruce Springsteen paid a visit to Jackpot Records on Hawthorne Boulevard. Founded in 1997, the independent record store has collected various accolades, including being named one of the Top 25 Record Stores in the U.S. by Rolling Stone back in 2010. …Jackpot employee Kim Conyers told KOIN 6 News Springsteen’s visit was a nice surprise, noting, “He was an incredibly kind guy!” “I saw him and wasn’t sure, so I checked the tour dates online,” Conyers recalled. “I said, ‘You got a gig in town man?’ And he laughed and said, ‘Yeah, tomorrow.’ He bought a beanie with our logo on it!”
Media, PA | A Media record store captured the sounds of Delco on a nearly 100-track album: Delaware County is a special place with special sounds, and workers at one record store in Media traversed the county to capture some of those most iconic sounds. The Greatest Hits record store on South Jackson Street produced a vinyl record made up of nearly 100 tracks that are uniquely Delaware County. Shop Manager Jesse Gennett and other co-workers assembled a combination of field recordings and studio productions for the “Sounds of Delco” album. “We wrote the tracks, we came up with the ideas. Wrote some mini scripts,” he said. Gennett said some tracks didn’t make the cut, but those that did range from a man stuck holding the door at Wawa—“Go ahead. No you go. Somebody go. Have a good day. Go Birds.”—to ‘Patti: A Hair Salon Complaint’—“One side is up and one side down. I don’t believe I asked for that.”
Dublin, IE | Waxing Lyrical: With sales at a thirty-year high, Dublin’s love affair with the LP is more than a nostalgic spin. Something about listening to vinyl makes music feel deliberate. In an age where any song can be summoned instantly, shuffled, and skipped on a whim, the turntable demands intent. When you put on a record, the first sound you hear is not a chord or hook. It is the faint crackle of dust and time—the thrilling promise that something is about to begin. That small pause of anticipation already feels different from clicking “play” on a phone. Vinyl draws you into an atmosphere that nothing else can match. The warmth of analogue sound fills the room in a way that digital cannot replicate: bass notes thrum, horns radiate warmth, and voices hover in the stillness. This is about presence, about feeling as though the musicians are in the room.
Caracas, VE | In Caracas, A Vinyl Dealer Flourishes: “Colombiano ilegal,” the policeman yells at me after asking to empty my bag a second time. It was Friday. I was being put through what I was later told was the “matraqueo de la quincena,” when Venezuelan police stop civilians with any excuse to get money out of them. Finding only a recorder, a blanket, a notebook, and a pen, they let me and my friend pass. Asked multiple times what I was doing in Catia, and why my accent sounded like it does, I could only tell them the truth: I had been out of the country for many years, and I was here to interview someone. By the time we got past the barricade and were welcomed into Omar Viñas’ home, the agitated energy had mellowed significantly. I went from guns waved in my face and questions about expired documents to a room overflowing with rare vinyl and buzzing with Viñas’ light-hearted energy. The trek had been more than worth it.
Alliance Authentic Is Selling The ‘Forever Copy’ Of Your Favorite Album: A new marketplace in vinyl music wants to redefine what it means to celebrate—and preserve—a beloved album. Earlier this year, industry-leading collectibe distributor Alliance Entertainment launched Alliance Authentic, a one-of-a-kind platform to purchase uncirculated copies of hit albums from artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Nirvana, Kendrick Lamar, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and dozens more. The company hopes to carve a new path in limited edition vinyl collectibles, a virtually unexplored corner of an industry that surpassed $1 billion in U.S. sales last year, the 19th consecutive year of growth for the once-endangered format. If people purchase sneakers, toys and cards for collectibility and preservation, why not albums? (Thumbs down. —Ed.)
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Des Moines, IA | Lani Eclatt: Record Store Roundup with Sara Routh. Join Lani for an intimate performance and interview with Sara Routh at Vinyl Cup Records in Beaverdale!! Lani is a bilingual singer-songwriter whose music blends Latin soul, pop, and funk with heartfelt lyrics and infectious rhythms. Backed by a powerhouse band, her performances are lively, emotionally rich, and rooted in her Colombian-American heritage. Whether delivering original songs or reimagined classics, Lani’s full band creates an experience that moves both the heart and body—celebrating culture, joy, and connection through music that feels personal and alive.
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